The night was coming to a close. The sun was rising with a bright orange glow and it was piercing above the treetops and burst through the sky at a resounding color. It was this, at this exact time that the day and night met in the sky. It is also at this time that all Children of the Night are most vulnerable to magic. Where they are most vulnerable to Dracula’s magic, to be more specific. Dracula stood looking at the sunlight breaking through the treetops and he said,

“The age dawns, the weather fair
Nature warms, without a care
To the North, the winter's cold
A storm rages, from what I'm told
Faraway, the surface flares
Intense heat, with increased glare

A time lag, from there to here
Waves arrive, earth's atmosphere
To the North, electricity barged
Dance the sky, crystallites charged
Waves of light, to those aware
Color night, beyond compare

Warming trends, begin right there
Increased waves, excite the air
Magic in waves
Together rub, and so behave
It's the same with solar flares
A magical effect, but only with Celestia’s care.”

Dracula closed his eyes and with his magic he absorbed the leftover energies left behind by both Luna and Celestia. He felt a sensation course through his body and he felt his body rejuvenate and heal. The thing about Dracula is when he uses his magic he doesn’t exhaust himself mentally or physically, leftover energy just continues to build up and prevents him from using more powerful spells. And if he lets it get to a resounding rate he cannot fix it and it will halt his magical casting.

But it has never gone that far. He turns and he sees that his companions and friends have all began to gather around him. Celestia, Emerald, Cornell, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Luna, and Twilight. Dracula nodded at their arrival and he said,”Lets not waste any time, we will not be stopping. Stay close and do not be distracted by anything, the Everfree Forest on these ends have been known to lead ponies astray.”

They all nodded and Dracula turned to the dirt path that lead them to an even thicker part of the Everfree Forest. Where they stood was the farthest anypony has ever stepped. As they looked through the path no light broke through the top and in front of them was almost like a tunnel made of vegetation and sprawling shadows. Dracula had a fierce and dedicated face, he feared nothing now. His power he was certain was unmatched by only Celestia and Luna. He stepped into the shadows and motioned for everypony to follow.

Luna followed behind him and Celestia behind her. Both equally had the same expression on their face as Dracula. Cornell was unamused and merely snarled as he entered the shadowed forest. Emerald had a suspicious look on his face, being ready for anything. Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Rarity had fearful faces however. They reluctantly entered the shadowed forest and followed the others.

As Dracula continued on through the darkness he said to Luna,”Do you know about this section of the forest?”

Dracula turned his head back and saw Luna had shook her head and said in a voice of serene and wisdom,”No, I only know of the legends of this section of the Everfree Forest. It is considered its own forest known as the Veiled Wood. Legends state that there exists dark creatures not known by ponies. It would make sense for Sombra to move the castle to this location. Be wary my son, whatever lies ahead of us is beyond my knowledge.”

Dracula turned his head back forward and adjusted his shoulders. He had noticed everypony still had their battle armor on from their previous encounter with the Changelings. Slowly and slowly they advanced through the forest, they however did not know how long they were in that wood for. Everything that they walked by was either dead or so gnarled that whatever was leftover was almost gone and reduced to nothing but dead wooden and fallen trees.

The dirt under their hooves crackled and crunched underneath them. The air had a pungent smell of moss and burnt wood. Dracula could feel a dark magic emanating from everything in the forest, as if the forest itself is alive. Dracula could also feel some sort of connection to the place.

Dracula knew nothing more than it was the site to an ancient Alicorn city state. Dracula focused back on the road and Luna was walking next to him. Dracula said,”What is the strategy for infiltrating Shadow Garden?”

Luna tries not to look at her son in the eyes and he says,”You, Twilight, and Rarity will infiltrate the castle and face Sombra. While me and the others confront the Children of the Night and break their corrupted bond with the Living Shadow. Be swift, for Sombra is under the influence of the Living Shadow. He will not die so easily.”

Dracula turned his head towards Luna to meet her eyes and he says,”But his death will be sure and true.”

Luna saw woeful eyes on Dracula’s face. Luna knew it must have been hard for him, Sombra and Marrok had been the closest thing he had to a family. Emerald might have known about Dracula but the Living Shadow put false memories into his head, Luna could sense it when she was around him. She turned away and Twilight trotted next to Dracula and she said,”Wait, Sombra was one of the Children of the Night?”

Dracula nodded his head and said,”Yes. I helped him train to be what he is now. Sombra was just a little colt when I had found him. His family was ravaged and broken, him being the only survivor. The Children of the Night might be Vampires, Werewolves and Phantoms, but there existed those before us. Those who are not Children of the Night are known as Wilds. His family was killed by Wilds and we rescued him.

“Luna decided he would be an excellent addition to the family. We all agreed and we accepted him. He was the only Child of the Night that did not change his name when he became one of us. But when he did become one of us, something happened. When we are turned some of our Unicorn magic is replaced by Alicorn magic. However, there are rare occasions where the Alicorn magic fully replaces the Unicorn magic and they become, in Sombra’s case, a Warlock.

“It had been nothing like I had seen before. The rest of the fillies and colts that he taught with feared him. There then came the time where all the young Vampires came and demonstrated their magic for the Originals. It was there that I realised I had to personally train Sombra, he summoned shadows to do his bidding. That was something only a Progenitor Vampire could do. I asked him if he wanted to train under me.

“The look on his face was priceless, he was so happy he hugged me. For years I had trained him the ways of the Children of the Night. He had grown into an excellent wielder of his abilities, but there were some he did not know himself but the Originals did. We feared he would ask sooner or later. Sombra asked to be an Original, we refused him. We told him his magic was too uncontrollable and that we did not understand it ourselves. I did not say a word through that discussion.

“After his furious tirade he gave me a look I had never forgotten. He was like a son to me and I loved him for that. When he left it crushed me. He disappeared. Once he broke the connection to Luna we knew he had become fully aware of his abilities. He went north and built the Crystal Empire and found the Crystal ponies. And I think you know the rest.”

Dracula stopped in his tracks and he looked away from Twilight and said under his breath,”I wish I had known about what would happen. Maybe all of this could be avoided.”

Dracula turns his gaze back towards Twilight and he says,”I am sorry to tell you all of this. I just wish things could have been different.”

Twilight leaned up and kissed him on the cheek and said,”You can’t dwell on the past, it will keep you from looking into the future.”

Dracula smiled a little bit and he said,”Thank you Twilight. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

They continued on in silence and Rarity caught up next to Dracula and Twilight. Rarity says trying not to look at them in the face,”So how long has this been going on?”

Dracula says,”What?”

“Please do not be so drab darling,”Rarity says,”This thing between you and her.”

Twilight finally says,”A few days now. A short time after you turned into a Vampire.”

Rarity smiled a little bit and said,”Out of all of us, I thought you were going to be the last one to get a special somepony.”

Dracula raises an eyebrow and says,”What do you mean ‘us’?”

Twilight says,”Our friends. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. The Six Elements of Harmony.”

Dracula stopped in his tracks for the second time that journey and he began to think and he said,”Elements of Harmony...I know how those were created.”

This caught the attention of both Luna and Celestia. They both rushed over to him and Celestia said,”What do you know?”

Dracula moved his hoof to his forehead and he said,”I know that what you told me Mother was a lie, it was not Cerberus that was corrupted. Cerberus created the Elements of Harmony. And I...I have to find and recreate the Knights of the Moon.”

Celestia motioned for Luna to talk to her and she says,”Is it possible?”

“Cerberus still technically lives on through the Elements. So it is quite possible.”Luna responds. Celestia shakes her head and says,”What does he want? Why is he returning now?”

Luna responded with a shake of the head and said,”I don’t know. But one problem at a time. Once we take care of Sombra and Chrysalis we will find out more about this.”

Celestia nodded and they motioned for Dracula and the others to follow. Twilight says to Dracula,”Who is Cerberus?”

Dracula does not look at Twilight and he says,”Cerberus was the Lord of the Night. He ruled and helped in the creation of the four races. He also founded and led the Knights of the Moon. But when his brother, Faximas, became corrupted Faximas nearly destroyed everything. War broke out between the Lunars, Ponies that followed Cerberus, and Solars, Ponies that followed Faximas.

“Many battles were fought and the end of the war was nearing with Faximas as the victor. But with the last dying magic left inside of Cerberus he infused his magical energies into six stones, and they became the Elements of Harmony. His spirit lives on through the Elements of Harmony and he gave them to Starswirl the Bearded. Starswirl confronted Faximas and he imprisoned him deep within the earth.

“Unfortunately the after effects of the magic, ironically, was that the four races split apart and would hate each other. And thus is the story of the end of Old Equestria and the start of the Alicorn Empire.”

Twilight looked away and said,”Wow. Starswirl wielded the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned a powerful godlike being.”

Dracula nodded and he stopped to look around. He could not tell what time of day it was because of the canopy tree top. Dracula looked at Cornell and he said,”Cornell and Rainbow Dash, scout ahead to see if we are close to Shadow Garden.”

Cornell nodded and he transformed into a Werewolf and bounded away ahead of them, as did Rainbow Dash. Once they were out of sight Dracula said,”We shall rest here while we wait for Cornell and Rainbow Dash to return.”

Dracula looked at Rarity and he said,”Come with me Rarity I need to tell you something.”

Rarity put her saddlebags on the ground and they left to speak privately. Dracula stops and he says,”Okay. Now that you are a Vampire you must know how to fight like one. Already you have a grasp on how to fight like one, but there is still much more for you to learn. Vampire magic is the most chaotic and uncontrollable magic that exists in Equestria. There are three forms of Vampiric Magic. Blood Magic. Shadow Magic. and Elemental Magic.

“A normal Vampire can only use one form of magic, but an Original can use all three. There are a few levels of Vampires. Fledgling, Risen, Progenitor, and Sanguinare. Now which form of magic do you wish to use?”

Dracula had noticed that his illusion spell activated and Rarity turned into Spectra. This is good, when she is Spectra she can control Vampiric magic easier. Spectra thought for a moment and finally said,”Blood Magic.”

Dracula nodded his head and then lowered it, pointing his horn at her. Red magic swirled around his horn and went into Spectra’s horn and she felt an energy move through her veins. She began to glow red and with a flash the magic dimmed down and she felt great power within her and Dracula said,”Now that you use Blood Magic you must know that all of your spells will be blood based. Whether it’s shooting it from your horn or changing the blood within an enemy and you can even increase the density of your blood to have a sort of natural armor. As a Fledgling your powers are weakened. As you use your powers more will be unlocked and your powers will only continue to grow.

“For now you should come to grip with your new powers.”Dracula closes his eyes and red magic swirls around his horn. His eyes shoot open and they are glowing bright red. Spectra sees that his skin begins to harden into a blood like metal. Dracula says with a metallic voice,”Now you try. Concentrate not on your mind or the spell, concentrate on your blood.”

Dracula’s eyes return to normal and his skin returns to normal as well. Dracula stands tall and strong. If Spectra had to describe how Dracula walked and stood she would say that he has the stance of a leader. Spectra shakes her head and activates her magic. She squinted her closed eyes and she felt her skin begin to harden and she felt her blood become heavier.

She opened her eyes and her skin became a blood colored metal. She then deactivated her magic and her skin and blood returned to normal. Dracula smirked and said,”Good you are coming to grip your new powers very well. Just remember you no longer rely on rest to recover from magical exhaustion, you have to drink blood to replenish it.”

Spectra nodded her head and she focused attention as she heard a noise. Dracula was a step ahead of her and he began to step closer to the source of the sound. She then began to hear whispers in the dark of the moon. She heard the voices say,
I will return

Come with me Spectra

Give in to the darkness

She shook her head and followed Dracula. Dracula had summoned his Void sword and stood at the ready for an attack. Treading through the darkness with great care wielding his sword close to him. He could feel magic all around him, from living beings. Dracula’s eyes glowed bright red and he slammed his hooves on the ground causing a small earthquake. They saw figures shift and move behind the bushes.

As fast as lightning what jumped from the bushes was, what looked like, a diamond dog. But it they were larger and more fearsome than ever before. They had glowing red eyes and black mist coming off of them. It appears as if Living Shadow had prepared this. There was a total of six of them.

One pounced at Dracula and he impaled it with his horn, blood slowly draining down unto Dracula. He thrust the lifeless corpse of the diamond dog away and stood ready for the next attacker. Two charged at him and he charged at them, baring his fangs. He cut one of them in half at the waist and then tackled the other to the ground. The diamond dog thrashed and lashed out to escape his demise. But the more it struggled the tougher Dracula got. Dracula smiled and lifted his head to the sky and hissed revealing his sharp fangs.

Then an unworldly sound emanated from Dracula and he dropped his head down with such force and he stabbed his fangs into the diamond dog’s neck. Blood steadily seeped out from the wound into Dracula’s mouth and around. Dracula drank from the diamond dog’s neck and became stronger and more power coursed through his veins. When he was done he looked down at the diamond dog and saw it was a dark grey color. Dracula smiled and he said using his magic to say it verbally and mentally to the Living Shadow,”Is this the best you can do? If you want to kill me you will have to do better than this.”

He heard laughter emanate from his mind and he heard his father’s voice say,
This is only the beginning of what I have planned for you in this forest. Nothing will be left untouched by my corruption. I cannot wait to see you fall to the ground in pain and when you beg for mercy, there will be none to give. Your end is near my son.

Dracula smirked as he saw Spectra finish off the rest of them and he used all of his magic to reply to his father,
I have yet to see at least one of your minions succeed. You intimidate when you hide behind your shadows, too scared to breach the darkness to hide your face. You’re scared. Scared that I will end you and your legacy. If this is the best you can send me you’re going to have to step it up a little bit more.

All Dracula heard was a deep and maniacal laughter echo through his subconscious. The dark voice of his father sent shivers through his spin as he said,
There is so much you have yet to understand. My corruption started long ago with one of your brothers. Your test is to figure out who. Who would betray you?

Dracula then came back to reality and he looked inside of himself to try and answer the question. He did not know who would betray him. Dracula was strong but even he could not sense such magic instilled so long ago. He turned his blood stained face towards Spectra and she looked at him and he said,”We must warn the others. One of us will betray us all.”